Specifications
Table Of Contents
- vSphere Upgrade
- Contents
- About vSphere Upgrade
- Overview of the Upgrade Process
- System Requirements
- ESXi Hardware Requirements
- Hardware Requirements for vCenter Server, the vSphere Web Client , vCenter Inventory Service, and vCenter Single Sign-On
- vCenter Server Software Requirements
- vSphere Web Client Software Requirements
- Providing Sufficient Space for System Logging
- Required Ports for vCenter Server
- Required Ports for the vCenter Server Appliance
- Conflict Between vCenter Server and IIS for Port 80
- DNS Requirements for vSphere
- Supported Remote Management Server Models and Minimum Firmware Versions
- Update Manager Hardware Requirements
- Preparing for the Upgrade to vCenter Server
- About the vCenter Server Upgrade
- How vCenter Single Sign-On Affects vCenter Server Upgrades
- vCenter Single Sign-On Deployment Modes
- vCenter Single Sign-On and High Availability
- vCenter Single Sign-On Components
- Setting the vCenter Server Administrator User
- Authenticating to the vCenter Server Environment
- How vCenter Single Sign-On Affects Log In Behavior
- Identity Sources for vCenter Server with vCenter Single Sign-On
- vCenter Server Upgrade Summary
- Required Information for Installing or Upgrading vCenter Single Sign-On, Inventory Service, vCenter Server, and the vSphere Web Client
- Best Practices for vCenter Server Upgrades
- Prerequisites for the vCenter Server Upgrade
- vCenter Server Database Configuration Notes
- Upgrading to vCenter Server on a Different Machine
- Supported Database Upgrades
- Confirm That vCenter Server Can Communicate with the Local Database
- Synchronizing Clocks on the vSphere Network
- JDBC URL Formats for the vCenter Server Database
- DNS Load Balancing Solutions and vCenter Server Datastore Naming
- About the vCenter Host Agent Pre-Upgrade Checker
- Downtime During the vCenter Server Upgrade
- Download the vCenter Server Installer
- Microsoft SQL Database Set to Unsupported Compatibility Mode Causes vCenter Server Installation or Upgrade to Fail
- Upgrading vCenter Server
- vCenter Server Upgrade and Sign-On Process for Environments that Do Not Include vCenter Single Sign-On
- vCenter Server Upgrade and Sign-On Process for Environments with vCenter Single Sign-On
- Use Simple Install to Upgrade vCenter Server and Required Components
- Use Custom Install to Upgrade Version 5.0.x and Earlier vCenter Server and Required Components
- Install the First or Only vCenter Single Sign-On Instance in a vCenter Server Deployment
- Install an Additional vCenter Single Sign-On Node at an Existing Site
- Install an Additional vCenter Single Sign-On Node at a New Site
- Install or Upgrade the vSphere Web Client
- Upgrade vCenter Inventory Service Separately by Using Custom Install
- Upgrade vCenter Server Separately by Using Custom Install
- Use Custom Install to Upgrade a Basic vCenter Single Sign-On Deployment of Version 5.1.x vCenter Server and Required Components
- Use Custom Install to Upgrade vCenter Server from a Version 5.1.x High Availability vCenter Single Sign-On Deployment
- Upgrade the First vCenter Single Sign-On Node in a High Availability Installation
- Upgrade an Additional vCenter Single Sign-On Server for High Availability
- Reconfigure the Load Balancer After Upgrading a vCenter Single Sign-On High Availability Deployment to Version 5.5
- Install or Upgrade the vSphere Web Client
- Upgrade vCenter Inventory Service Separately by Using Custom Install
- Upgrade vCenter Server Separately by Using Custom Install
- Use Custom Install to Upgrade vCenter Server from a Version 5.1.x Multisite vCenter Single Sign-On Deployment
- Install or Upgrade the First vCenter Single Sign-On Server in a Multisite vCenter Single Sign-On Installation
- Install or Upgrade the vSphere Web Client
- Upgrade vCenter Inventory Service Separately by Using Custom Install
- Upgrade vCenter Server Separately by Using Custom Install
- Install or Upgrade an Additional Single Sign-On Server for a Multisite vCenter Single Sign-On Installation
- Install or Upgrade the vSphere Web Client
- Upgrade vCenter Inventory Service Separately by Using Custom Install
- Upgrade vCenter Server Separately by Using Custom Install
- Add a vCenter Single Sign-On Identity Source
- Migrate vCenter Server and Components from a Windows Server 2003 Host
- Install vCenter Single Sign-On in a Migration to vSphere 5.5 from a Windows Server 2003 Host
- Install or Upgrade the vSphere Web Client
- Migrate vSphere Web Client Data from a Windows Server 2003 Host
- Migrate vCenter Inventory Service Data from a Windows Server 2003 Host
- Install Inventory Service in a vCenter Server Migration from a Windows Server 2003 Host
- Migrate vCenter Server Data from a Windows Server 2003 Host
- Install vCenter Server in a Migration from a Windows Server 2003 Host
- vCenter Single Sign-On Installation Fails
- Updating vCenter Server with Service Packs
- Upgrading and Updating the vCenter Server Appliance
- Install or Upgrade vCenter Server Java Components Separately
- Install or Upgrade vCenter Server tc Server Separately
- Update the Java Components and vCenter Server tc Server with VIMPatch
- vCenter Server Upgrade Fails When Unable to Stop Tomcat Service
- After You Upgrade vCenter Server
- Install or Upgrade the vSphere Web Client
- Install or Upgrade vSphere ESXi Dump Collector
- Install or Upgrade vSphere Syslog Collector
- Install or Upgrade vSphere Auto Deploy
- Install or Upgrade vSphere Authentication Proxy
- Enable IPv6 Support for vCenter Inventory Service
- Linked Mode Considerations for vCenter Server
- Linked Mode Prerequisites for vCenter Server
- Join a Linked Mode Group After a vCenter Server Upgrade
- Configuring VMware vCenter Server - tc Server Settings in vCenter Server
- Set the Maximum Number of Database Connections After a vCenter Server Upgrade
- Upgrading Update Manager
- Upgrading and Migrating Your Hosts
- Preparing to Upgrade Hosts
- Best Practices for ESXi Upgrades and Migrations
- Files and Configuration Settings Affected by the Migration or Upgrade from ESX 4.x or ESXi 4.x to ESXi 5.x
- Networking Changes in ESXi 5.x
- Partitioning Changes from ESX 4.x to ESXi 5.x
- ESXi 5.5 Upgrade Options
- Upgrading Hosts That Have Third-Party Custom VIBs
- Supported Upgrades to ESXi 5.5.x
- Using Manually Assigned IP Addresses for Upgrades and Migrations Performed with vSphere Update Manager
- Media Options for Booting the ESXi Installer
- Download and Burn the ESXi Installer ISO Image to a CD or DVD
- Format a USB Flash Drive to Boot the ESXi Installation or Upgrade
- Create a USB Flash Drive to Store the ESXi Installation Script or Upgrade Script
- Create an Installer ISO Image with a Custom Installation or Upgrade Script
- PXE Booting the ESXi Installer
- Installing and Booting ESXi with Software FCoE
- Using Remote Management Applications
- Download the ESXi Installer
- Performing the Upgrade or Migration
- Using vSphere Update Manager to Perform Orchestrated Host Upgrades
- Configuring Host and Cluster Settings
- Perform an Orchestrated Upgrade of Hosts Using vSphere Update Manager
- Configure Host Maintenance Mode Settings
- Configure Cluster Settings
- Enable Remediation of PXE Booted ESXi 5.x Hosts
- Import Host Upgrade Images and Create Host Upgrade Baselines
- Create a Host Baseline Group
- Attach Baselines and Baseline Groups to Objects
- Manually Initiate a Scan of ESX/ESXi Hosts
- View Compliance Information for vSphere Objects
- Remediate Hosts Against an Upgrade Baseline
- Remediate Hosts Against Baseline Groups
- Upgrade or Migrate Hosts Interactively
- Installing, Upgrading, or Migrating Hosts Using a Script
- Enter Boot Options to Start an Installation or Upgrade Script
- About Installation and Upgrade Scripts
- Install, Upgrade, or Migrate ESXi from a CD or DVD Using a Script
- Install, Upgrade, or Migrate ESXi from a USB Flash Drive Using a Script
- Performing a Scripted Installation or Upgrade of ESXi by PXE Booting the Installer
- Using vSphere Auto Deploy to Reprovision Hosts
- Upgrading Hosts by Using esxcli Commands
- VIBs, Image Profiles, and Software Depots
- Understanding Acceptance Levels for VIBS and Hosts
- Determine Whether an Update Requires the Host to Be in Maintenance Mode or to Be Rebooted
- Place a Host in Maintenance Mode
- Update a Host with Individual VIBs
- Upgrade or Update a Host with Image Profiles
- Update ESXi Hosts by Using Zip Files
- Remove VIBs from a Host
- Adding Third-Party Extensions to Hosts with esxcli
- Perform a Dry Run of an esxcli Installation or Upgrade
- Display the Installed VIBs and Profiles That Will Be Active After the Next Host Reboot
- Display the Image Profile and Acceptance Level of the Host
- Errors and Warnings Returned by the Installation and Upgrade Precheck Script
- Using vSphere Update Manager to Perform Orchestrated Host Upgrades
- After You Upgrade or Migrate Hosts
- Preparing to Upgrade Hosts
- Upgrading Virtual Machines and VMware Tools
- Example Upgrade Scenarios
- Index

Errors and Warnings Returned by the Installation and Upgrade Precheck Script
The installation and upgrade precheck script runs tests to identify problems on the host machine that can
cause an installation, upgrade, or migration to fail.
For interactive installations, upgrades, and migrations, the errors or warnings are displayed on the final
panel of the installer, where you are asked to confirm or cancel the installation or upgrade. For scripted
installations, upgrades, or migrations, the errors or warnings are written to the installation log.
vSphere Update Manager provides custom messages for these errors or warnings. To see the original errors
and warnings returned by the precheck script during an Update Manager host upgrade scan, review the
Update Manager log file vmware-vum-server-log4cpp.log.
Table 7‑9. Error and Warning Codes That Are Returned by the Installation and Upgrade Precheck Script
Error or Warning Description
64BIT_LONGMODESTATUS The host processor must be 64-bit.
COS_NETWORKING Warning. An IPv4 address was found on an enabled
Service Console virtual NIC for which there is no
corresponding address in the same subnet in the vmkernel.
A separate warning will be output for each such
occurrence.
CPU_CORES The host must have at least two cores.
DISTRIBUTED_VIRTUAL_SWITCH If Cisco's Virtual Ethernet Module (VEM) software is found
on the host, the test checks to make sure the upgrade also
contains the VEM software, and that it supports the same
version of the Virtual Supervisor Module (VSM) as the
existing version on the host. If the software is missing or is
compatible with a different version of the VSM, the test
returns a warning, and the result indicates which version
of the VEM software was expected on the upgrade ISO and
which version, if any, were found. You can use ESXi Image
Builder CLI to create a custom installation ISO that
includes the appropriate version of the VEM software.
HARDWARE_VIRTUALIZATION Warning. If the host processor doesn't have hardware
virtualization or if hardware virtualization is not turned on
in the host BIOS, host performance will suffer. Enable
hardware virtualization in the host machine boot options.
See your hardware vendor's documentation.
MD5_ROOT_PASSWORD This test checks that the root password is encoded in MD5
format. If a password is not encoded in MD5 format, it
might be significant only to eight characters. In this case,
any characters after the first eight are no longer
authenticated after the upgrade, which can create a security
issue. To work around this problem, see VMware
Knowledge Base article 1024500.
MEMORY_SIZE The host requires the specified amount of memory to
upgrade.
PACKAGE_COMPLIANCE vSphere Update Manager only. This test checks the existing
software on the host against the software contained on the
upgrade ISO to determine whether the host has been
successfully upgraded. If any of the packages are missing
or are an older version than the package on the upgrade
ISO, the test returns an error and indicates which software
was found on the host, and which software was found on
the upgrade ISO.
vSphere Upgrade
212 VMware, Inc.